Paper trimmer apparatus

ABSTRACT

A trimmer apparatus for accurately cutting a length of paper has a table surface, a feed roller and a pressure roller which engages the feed roller. A guide roller is located rearwardly of the feed roller and a cutting member for shearing the paper is located in juxtaposition to said guide roller.

United States Patent 1151 Hosterman Mar. 18, 1975 PAPER TRIMMER APPARATUS 848,614 3/1907 Firsching .0 83/430 x 1,333,551 4/1920 Blakeslee 83/430 [751 Invent Harry 11-305mm", 3,621,746 11/1971 Womack 83/430 [73] Assign/3e; portage Newspaper Supply Co" 3,791,247 2/1974 Pretz 83/447 Akron, Ohm v FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1 21 Filed: p 1973 609,962 1 United Kingdom 83/430 Appl' 401352 Primary Examiner-J. M. Meister Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Oldham & Oldham [52] US. Cl. 83/429, 83/430, 83/449 [51] Int. Cl B23d 19/04 57 ABSTRACT [58] Field of Search 83/430, 429, 426, 424,

A trlmmer apparatus for accurately cuttmg a length of 83/425, 444-449 paper has a table surface, a feed roller and a pressure [561 182523153525382?82 3362112116?538181315; UNITED STATES PATENTS member for shearing the paper is located in juxtaposi- 78,707 6/1868 Yeoman 83/430 tion to Said guide 1 310,534 l/1885 Murray 611,599 10/1898 Beaty et a1 7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures X 1 I 65; P

. I 1 I PAPER TRIMMER APPARATUS BACKGROUND or THEINVENTION The present invention relates to an accurate paper trimmer. More specifically, the present invention relates to a paper trimming apparatus having feeding rolls which direct the paper to the cutting area.

Paper trimming devices for cutting an edge portion of a length of paper generally may consist of a knifelike wheel or other sharp implement through which a length of paper is pulled or which implement on the other hand, is dragged across the paper. More sophisticated devices generally contain two rollers, one of which usually has a disc extending from it and the other usually has a corresponding notch so that as the paper is forced or pulled through the pair of rollers, it is cut by the disc and notch. Numerous other devices which contain slight modifications of the above trimmers also exist. However, a great number of these devices fail to give a straight and accurate edge out but instead produce a wave or weave type cut. Moreover, many of the prior art devices require constant attention during the cutting operation and require threading the paper'or a similar procedure before a continuous cutting operation can proceed. Other disadvantages of the prior art devices include an often slow rate of operation in the ability to only cut one edge of a sheet or length of paper.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a paper trimmer apparatus which produces an accurate and very even cut.

It is, therefore, another object of the present invention to provide a paper trimmer apparatus, as above, which'cuts paper at a comparative high rate.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a paper trimmer apparatus, as above, which is self feeding.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a paper trimmer apparatus, as above, which is portable and inexpensive to produce.

It is yet another object of the present invention to produce a paper trimmer apparatus, as above, which has an accurate movable alignment clip for guiding the paper to the cutting area.

In general, a paper trimmer according to the present invention has a table surface. A pressure roller engages a feed roller so that a length of paper can be positively directed to a guide roller located rearwardly of said feed roller into a cutting member located in juxtaposi tion to the guide roller for shearing the paper.

In general, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail without attempting to discuss all of the various modifications in which the invention might be embodied; the invention being measured by the appended claims and not by the details of the specification.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the trimmer apparatus showing a length of paper in phantom and an adjustable paper guide clip.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing the relationship of various rollers.

FIG. 3 is a top elevation of a feeding and cutting area also showing the relationship of the various rollers.

FIG.-4 is a front elevational view taken on line'4--4 of FIGS showing the engagement of the cutting members.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the adjustable paper guide clip.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A paper trimmer according to the concepts of the present invention is generally indicated by the numeral 10. Housing 11 of the trimmer contains a table surface 12, a roller housing 13, and an electrical switch housing 14. Extending from electrical housing 14 is a tandem handle 14A which upon depressing initially completes a circuit to a light bulb, not shown, to indicate that the paper has been clamped by the feed and pressure rolls so that paper alignment can be checked and upon further depression completes another circuit to an electrical motor,'not shown, which drives the variousrollers may be readily mounted over a wastepaper receptacle, not shown, or placed upon a table or stand.

Attached to table surface 12 is a trimmer path indicator 15 comprising preferably a transparent screen 16 .having a hairline indicator 17 thereon. Of course,'the

trimmer path indicator is secured to table surface 12 as by screws 18 such that the hairline 17 is in exact alignment with the cut to be made. Thus, a length of paper P can be aligned with the hairline at a specific distance from thepaper edge and then fed into the roller housing 11 for trimming. Alternatively, the paper can be aligned with respect toany printed matter thereon and cut. Hence, unsqu-ared paper sheets or proofs such as those used in the printing industry or the like can be readily trimmed with respect to the printed or photographed matter.

Turning now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the arrangement of the various rolls is shown. The feed roller, generally indicated by the numeral 21, is preferably aligned so that its uppermost surface is tangent to or vertically aligned with table surface 12. Feed roll 21 also serves as a guide roll and therefore is preferably a precision made roll having an exact diameter throughout its length. Thus,

it is accurately mounted on ribs 22 depending from the trimmer housing and in exact alignment throughout its length with the table surface. Generally, feed and guide roller 21 has a hard surface with high frictional characteristics. Hence, it may be made of a hard metal such as steel and contains serrations thereon or more desirably, it may contain a thin coat of hard rubber or a tough plastic such as urethane which possess a high coefficient of friction.

In contrast to the feed and guide roll 21, the top pressure roll, generally indicated by the numeral 26, which engages the guide roll has a smooth and slippery surface 27 so that paper can-slide across it and thus be guided primarily by the feed and guide roll. A suitable rolled surface material has been found to be polyethylene although any other low frictional material or compound may be utilized. The manner in which pressure is transmitted from guide roll 26 to the paper may be according to any conventional manner. A particular manner which has been found to produce desirable results involves the use of a layer of soft rubber or foam plastic material 28 which is located underneath the polyethylene surface layer. Thus upon the feeding of the length of paper between the feed and guide roll 21 and pressure roll 26, the backing 28 will compress approximately the distance of the paper thickness and thereby exert pressure on the paper as well as force it against the feed and guide roll. As seen in FIG. 3, preferably pressure roll 26 extends the same distance as the feed and guide roll 21 which is across the full length of the roller housing 13. The pressure roller is mounted to ribs 29 depending from roller housing 13in any conventional manner.

Located rearwardly of guide and feed roll 21 is a tension guide roll, generally indicated by the numeral 31. As with roll 21, upper vertical surface of the tension roll preferably is aligned with table surface 12. This roll also is accurately aligned on trimmer ribs 13 and is of uniform diameter throughout. Tension roll.31 extends across the roll housing 13 and is mounted at one end on thrust bearing 32 which is attached to the trimmer housing in a conventional manner. An intermediate portion of the roll has a cutting wheel 33 which bears against clutch 34 such as a nylon disk. The cutting wheel is securely attached to tension roll shaft 35 as by a keyway or pin, not shown. Although shaft 35 is driven by the same drive system, not shown, and has the same gearing set up as feed and guide roll 21, tension roll 31 has a slightly larger diameter than roll 21 so that through cutting wheel 33 and clutch 34, it grips and tends to pull the paper at a slightly faster rate than feed roll 21. This facet tends to insure that tension exists on the paper from the first set of rolls 21, 26 in the paper feeding area to the actual cutting area thereby eliminating sags and the like and permitting an accurate, even, straight line cut. Additionally, tension roll 31 preferably has a surface which has high frictional characteristics as does feed and guide roll 21 and thus may be made of similar materials.

Mounted directly above tension guide roll 31 is a spring loaded pinch roll, generally indicated by the numeral 36, having shaft 37 mounted in bearing housing 38. Springs 39 depend from roll housing ribs 29 and are attached to bearing housing 38. Spring loaded pinch roll 36 rotates freely about its axis as does pressure roll 26. The skin cover or material of the pinch roll is preferably composed of a durable material. Hence, nylon or any other serial material may be used as well as metals. The purpose of the pinch roll is, of course, to provide a-slight amount of pressure on tension roll 31 so that it can grip the paper and pull it to the cutting area without the presence of any waves, bevels, crinkles or the like which tend to cause a non-uniform or nonaccurate cut.

Juxtaposition to cutting wheel 33 on tension roll 31 is a shearing wheel, generally indicated by the numeral 46, which is mounted on a shaft 47. Shaft 47 as with pressure roll 26 is mounted to trimmer housing ribs 22 in any conventional manner as shown in FIG. 4 and carries a spring 48 seated at one end against a pin and washer unit 49. The other end of the spring bears against a thrust bearing 50 so that shaft 47 through pin unit 49 is forced in the opposite direction or towards the left of FIG. 4. Consequently, a portion of the shearing wheel 46 which overlaps cutting wheel 33 as seen in FIG. 2 bears against the cutting wheel and thus insures a good clean quality cut by the shearing action of the two wheels. The alignment of the cut, moreover, is very accurate since spring 48 is of sufficient force so that thrust bearing 32 and tension roll 31 is maintained at precise setting and through clutch 34, roll 31 exerts tension on the paper.

Trimmer 10 preferably has an adjustable paper edge guide to accurately direct the paper to the cutting area. A particular adjustable paper edge guide, generally indicated by the numeral 61, which has been found to be desirable as shown in FIG. 5. Briefly, a pair of arms 62 are separated by a spring 63. On closure of the arms,

dog legs 64 are retracted or lifted upwardly about pivot pin 74. The paper guide can then be moved to the desired location along slot 65 which is parallel to the rollers. Upon release of arm 62, dog leg 64 will seat against guide base 66 mounted on table surface 12. The tip of the dog leg is preferably a frictional surface to aid in gripping of the table surface. The paper can thus be fed along vertical guide wall 67 which preferably extends beyond either side of the clip.

The adjustable paper guide clip also has a small wheel 71 located in front of wall 67. A rubber O-ring resides within a V-shaped slot about the periphery of the wheel. Through wheel lever 73, which pivots about a pin 74, the wheel may be raised in a paper inserted against guide wall 67. The wheel may be raised in a paper inserted against guide wall 67. The wheel is then lowered and maintained in place as by a spring 75. As shown in FIG. 5, wheel 71 is horizontally inclined at a slight angle such as approximately 5 so that it tends to force and maintain the edge of paper P against the guide wall.

Another feature of the present invention resides in the disposal ofthe trimmed paper into a wastepaper receptacle or the like. This is readily achieved by positioning a downwardly directed deflection wall or chute into the vicinity of the cutting wheel 33 so that the trimmed paper will be directed downward into the receptacle, see FIG. 2.

OPERATION If the paper sheet to be cut has a squared edge, the paper is inserted under screen 16 and against the feed guide roller and the pressure roller, aligned with respect to hairline l7 and the paper edge guide 61 then adjusted. Should an unsquared length of paper be utilized such as a printed proof, then only hairline 61 need be utilized. Handle 14 is then depressed which causes the motor to be activated and to drive the guide and feed roll as well as the tension roll. Due to the high frictional surface of the feed and guide roll as well as the tension applied by the pressure roll, the paper is positively and precisely drawn into the roller housing. This initial accurate alignment is moreover maintained over long distances of paper length due to the fact that the top pressure roll with its slippery surface exerts a minimum of distortion force on the paper. When the paper reaches the high friction tension guide roll, and the nylon pinch roll, once again a positive pull is exerted on the paper so that no undulations or the like exist between the feed and guide roll and the tension roll. Thus, the paper reaches the cutting area in an aligned, flat sheet. Moreover, the combination and relationship of the various rolls has been found to trim paper at comparatively high rates of speed.

As apparent to one skilled in the art, modifications to the trimmer can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention herein disclosed and claimed, the scope of the invention being limited solely by the scope of the attached claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A paper trimmer apparatus, comprising, a table surface, a guide and feed roll, a pressure roll engaging said feed roller, a tension guide roller located rearwardly of said feed roller, a pinch roll mounted on a first shaft engaging said tension guide roll, said tension guide roll intermediate of the ends having a first cutting means for shearing, a second cutting means for shearing mounted on a second shaft, said second cutting means located juxtaposition to and bearing against said first cutting means of said tension guide roller.

2. A paper trimmer apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said feed and guide roll is a hard precision roll having an exact diameter throughout its length and having a frictional gripping surface, said pressure roll having a low frictional surface and a resilient backing beneath said surface.

3. A paper trimmer apparatus as in claim 2, wherein said tension guide roll has a frictional gripping surface and said pinch roll is mounted to provide pressure on said tension roll.

4. A paper trimmer apparatus as in claim 3, wherein said pinch roll is mounted on springs to provide said pressure against said tension roll.

5. A paper trimmer apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said second'cutting means is a shearing wheel mounted on said shaft.

6. A paper trimmer apparatus as in claim 5, wherein said shaft has a pin and is mounted on a thrust bearing, and a spring resides about said shaft with one end seated against said pin and the other end seated against said thrust bearing.

7. A paper trimmer apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said tension roll has a large diameter than said feed roll and is rotationally mounted on a shaft,.a drive means driving said feed roll and said tension roll shaft at an equal rotational speed so that said tension roll surface moves at a faster rate than said feed roll surface, and a clutch mounted between said first cutting means and said tension roll. 

1. A paper trimmer apparatus, comprising, a table surface, a guide and feed roll, a pressure roll engaging said feed roller, a tension guide roller located rearwardly of said feed roller, a pinch roll mounted on a first shaft engaging said tension guide roll, said tension guide roll intermediate of the ends having a first cutting means for shearing, a second cutting means for shearing mounted on a second shaft, said second cutting means located juxtaposition to and bearing against said first cutting means of said tension guide roller.
 2. A paper trimmer apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said feed and guide roll is a hard precision roll having an exact diameter throughout its length and having a frictional gripping surface, said pressure roll having a low frictional surface and a resilient backing beneath said surface.
 3. A paper trimmer apparatus as in claim 2, wherein said tension guide roll has a frictional gripping surface and said pinch roll is mounted to provide pressure on said tension roll.
 4. A paper trimmer apparatus as in claim 3, wherein said pinch roll is mounted on springs to provide said pressure against said tension roll.
 5. A paper trimmer apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said second cutting means is a shearing wheel mounted on said shaft.
 6. A paper trimmer apparatus as in claim 5, wherein said shaft has a pin and is mounted on a thrust bearing, and a spring resides about said shaft with one end seated against said pin and the other end seated against said thrust bearing.
 7. A paper trimmer Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said tension roll has a large diameter than said feed roll and is rotationally mounted on a shaft, a drive means driving said feed roll and said tension roll shaft at an equal rotational speed so that said tension roll surface moves at a faster rate than said feed roll surface, and a clutch mounted between said first cutting means and said tension roll. 